From New River Community College last week, Governor McDonnell announced that Red Sun Farms will establish its first U.S. location in Pulaski County, Va., to produce organic, greenhouse grown tomatoes. The $30 million investment will create 205 new jobs over the next five years.

Part of the Agricola El Rosal group based in Mexico, Red Sun Farms produces tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers using greenhouse hydroponics. The company’s high technology includes the use of hot water heating, carbon dioxide injection, climate control and fully-automated irrigation.

With plans to build a 45-acre greenhouse operation, Red Suns Farms will be the first tenant in the New River Valley Commerce Park, a 1,000-acre industrial site located four miles from I-81 and 30 minutes from Virginia Tech.

Virginia was able to successfully compete against Tennessee because Pulaski County offered the right mix of resources, including ideal climate conditions, a ready workforce, and a central location providing prime access to East Coast markets.

In addition, Pulaski County offers excess water capacity combined with very competitive electric rates. The region maintains its skilled workforce through access to 12 colleges and universities within a 60-mile radius, and provides a strong quality of life through two state parks, the Jefferson National Forest, and close proximity to the Appalachian Trial and Blue Ridge Parkway.

Virginia’s food and beverage industry continues to build momentum—just last week the Governor announced more than $176 million in capital investment and 265 new jobs in this growing sector.

To learn why food and beverage companies continue to choose the Commonwealth, investing more than $1.9 billion over the last decade, click here.

On Friday, Governor McDonnell attended a ground-breaking ceremony to announce Shamrock Farms’ plans to build a dairy manufacturing facility in Augusta County, Va., which will bring a $50 million investment and 60 new jobs to the region.

Since its founding in 1922, Shamrock Farms has grown to become one of the largest family-owned-and-operated dairies in the U.S. This is the company’s first operation in Virginia.

During the ceremony, officials broke ground on Shamrock Farms’ state-of-the-art, 130,000-square-foot facility which will be located at Mill Place Commerce Park. This investment will allow the company to better serve the East Coast market and meet growing demand for its On-the-Go mmmmilk and Rockin’ Refuel brands.

Virginia successfully competed against Maryland and West Virginia because Augusta County offered the right infrastructure mix—a strong, local milk supply chain, an advanced manufacturing workforce, and a strategic location with easy access to Virginia’s premier transportation network through I-81.

Shamrock Farms is not the only food and beverage company to find success in Augusta County—McKee Foods, maker of Little Debbie® snack cakes, has operated a manufacturing plant there for more than 22 years, and credits the region’s skilled workforce with achieving significant productivity gains.

Last week alone, the Governor announced more than $176 million in capital investment and 265 new jobs in Virginia—all from the Commonwealth’s food and beverage industry.

To learn why more than 550 food and beverage manufacturing companies have established operations in the Commonwealth, including household names like Hershey Foods, Nestlé Prepared Foods, Kraft Foods, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, click here.

Governor McDonnell (third from left) is joined by company, state and local officials, as well as Roxie, the Shamrock Farms’ mascot, at the company’s ground-breaking ceremony in Augusta County, Va.

Earlier this month, VEDP Senior Economist Brian Kroll testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. The subject of the oversight hearing was “America’s Offshore Energy Resources: Creating Jobs, Securing America, and Lowering Prices.”

The subcommittee, led by Congressman Doug Lamborn, heard testimony from four experts on how offshore energy can be a catalyst for job creation and economic development, particularly in regions off the Outer Continental Shelf.

Using an economic impact analysis that assumed 2,000 MW of offshore wind capacity were built over a 10-year period and only half of the supply chain located in the Commonwealth, Kroll concluded that 2,125 direct jobs and 2,710 indirect jobs could be created in Virginia over the first five years, and an additional 1,635 direct jobs and 1,960 indirect jobs could be created over the last five years, for a grand total of 8,430 new jobs in Virginia.

These jobs would primarily come from sectors such as operations and maintenance, construction, and the manufacturing of nacelles, turbine blades and generators.

In addition, Kroll concluded these jobs would benefit Virginia through an additional $9 billion in GDP and $119 million in state-level tax revenue over the 10-year period.

With yesterday’s announcement that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is on track to issue the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy a wind energy research lease on the Outer Continental Shelf, Virginia’s wind industry continues to build momentum.

In December, we blogged about the positive announcements from the BOEM, advertising the first-ever wind energy lease sale on the Outer Continental Shelf, and from the Department of Energy, reporting that a Virginia team was one of seven projects awarded a grant for the engineering, design and installation of an offshore wind turbine demonstration facility.

Virginia is primed to be a leader in the offshore wind industry, providing the ideal combination of strong Class 6 winds, shallow waters off the coast, an experienced maritime workforce, a robust transportation network, and access to a fully operational high voltage transmission grid close to shore.

Yesterday, Unilever announced plans to invest $96.2 million to upgrade its Lipton Tea Plant in Suffolk, part of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.

The Lipton Tea plant has operated out of Suffolk since 1955 and is the largest tea processing facility in the U.S., producing nearly all the Lipton tea bags sold throughout North America.

The investment will allow the company to increase production by both expanding and upgrading to more modern equipment. The Suffolk plant already has a reputation for efficiency and sustainability—in 2009 it became a “zero-landfill” facility through a combination of recycling, composting, and converting waste into usable energy.

Close proximity to the international Port of Virginia was a key deciding factor in the Commonwealth’s favor. Unilever already utilizes the port to bring in loose tea from all over the world for processing at its Suffolk plant. The Port of Virginia offers access to 250 ports in more than 100 overseas locations.

The strength of the Hampton Roads employee pool was another positive factor cited by the company. More than 300 highly-skilled workers currently support the Lipton plant.

This investment adds to Virginia’s growing food and beverage cluster. Home to household names such as Hershey Foods, Nestlé Prepared Foods, Kraft Foods, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, more than 550 food and beverage manufacturing companies have established operations in the Commonwealth.

To learn why food and beverage companies have invested more than $1.9 in Virginia over the last decade, click here.

Governor McDonnell presents Bill Kelly, Suffolk Supply Chain Leader, Unilever, with a commemorative share of stock in the Virginia Company at the Lipton Tea plant announcement event in Suffolk, Va.

On Monday, Porter’s Group LLC announced plans to establish its first Virginia operation in the City of Lynchburg through a $1.8 million investment, creating 120 new jobs.

Porter’s Group manufactures fabricated metal products, and its advanced capabilities allow it to produce a broad range of products from ATMs to engine parts.

The company plans to purchase an existing manufacturing facility from one of its customers, Diebold Inc., allowing it to quickly transition the plant for its specific production needs. The talented manufacturing workforce already in place in the Lynchburg region will also aid in the company’s quick ramp-up to production.

In addition to a turnkey building and ready workforce, Lynchburg offers a prime location that geographically aligns the company’s operations with its existing customer base.

Located near I-81, Lynchburg provides convenient access to Virginia’s premier transportation network, which includes six interstate highways, nine commercial airports, 14 railroads, including two Class I lines, and the international Port of Virginia.

Leading manufacturing companies continue to select the Commonwealth due to its competitive cost environment, strategic location and highly-skilled workforce. To learn why manufacturing companies have invested more than $13.7 billion in Virginia over the last decade, click here.

The Shenandoah Valley Partnership recently announced the launch of the new Shenandoah Valley Education and Training Database. The database will provide both employers and citizens with one convenient tool to learn about the wealth of training programs available throughout the region.

The database is located at http://www.svp-va.org/database.aspx and is searchable by keyword, field of study and degree level. It was created to solve the problem of employers not being aware of the broad offering of educational programs available, particularly in the region’s high growth areas, which include advanced manufacturing, agriculture, energy, life sciences and IT.

Located between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, the Shenandoah Valley Partnership includes the counties of Augusta, Bath, Highland, Page, Rockbridge, Rockingham and Shenandoah, as well as the cities of Buena Vista, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Staunton and Waynesboro.

The region is home to a number of prestigious higher education institutions, including James Madison University, Mary Baldwin College, Virginia Military Institute, and Washington and Lee University, as well as numerous community and technical colleges.

With 94 percent of the region’s 2012 corporate investment coming from expansion projects, the high quality of the local workforce is often cited as a compelling reason for a company’s decision to remain in the Shenandoah Valley.

Take McKee Foods, maker of Little Debbie® snack foods and one of the area’s major employers, as an example. President and CEO Mike McKee stated, “We have found our Virginia workforce to be some of the most loyal and highly-skilled employees in the industry—and about 85 members of our Virginia workforce have been at the plant since it opened. Our Virginia employees, now over 700 strong, are highly-motivated and have helped us boost plant productivity by 24 percent over the last two years.”

Jointly developed by the Shenandoah Valley Partnership and Blue Ridge Community College, the Shenandoah Valley Education and Training Database is another positive example of cooperation among the public, private and educational sectors in Virginia. To learn more about the Commonwealth’s highly-skilled workforce and premier educational programs, click here.

The Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program (CGEP) recently celebrated its 30-year anniversary at an event in Richmond, Va., hosted by CGEP and VEDP.

CGEP offers Master’s degrees and certificate programs for engineers and scientists seeking to further their education while remaining in the workforce. Students can pursue degrees in Computer Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Administration, Environmental Science & Engineering, and Systems Engineering.

What is most unique about the program is its distance learning model, which includes both online courses and televised courses offered at more than 25 sites across Virginia. CGEP uses the latest interactive video conferencing technology, allowing for two-way audio and video to provide an interactive classroom experience for students.

In addition, graduate students can personalize their program by taking advantage of courses offered by any of the five participating universities, which include George Mason University, Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech.

During the 2011-2012 academic year, total enrollment in CGEP increased by 10 percent to 6,759 students. CGEP attributes this growth to increased offerings in online coursework, allowing busy graduate students to take classes anywhere, anytime.

CGEP is another example of the innovative programs offered by Virginia’s prestigious higher education institutions to ensure a solid pipeline of skilled employees is ready to fulfill industry needs.

The Liebherr campus is located in Copeland Industrial Park, which covers two Virginia cities—Newport News and Hampton.

Liebherr, part of the Liebherr Group based in Switzerland, is known as a leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment. The expansion will allow the company to meet demand for its mining trucks as well as develop new models. The company expects to produce 240-ton, 320-ton, and 400-ton models.

In addition to increasing capacity and adding production equipment, this investment also enables Liebherr to expand its office and warehouse space. The company plans to add a training center as well as augment its material flow process.

Established in the Hampton Roads region in 1970, the company’s 40-year history and decision to further invest in Virginia speaks to its positive experience with the Commonwealth’s skilled workforce and pro-business climate.

The Hampton Roads location also offers close proximity to the international Port of Virginia. The company’s equipment is shipped worldwide, and the Port of Virginia offers access to 250 ports in more than 100 overseas locations. In addition, it is the only port on the U.S. East Coast able to handle post-Panamax vessels as first port of call.

With its skilled workforce, low-cost environment, and premier logistics infrastructure, Virginia is home to more than 6,000 manufacturing establishments. To learn why manufacturing companies have invested more than $13.7 billion in the Commonwealth over the last decade, click here.

Last week, Governor McDonnell announced the establishment of the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Logistics Systems (CCALS) in Prince George County, Va.

This public-private alliance will focus on solving logistics challenges and bringing solutions to market more quickly by partnering Virginia’s leading universities and logistics companies. Founding members include Longwood University, UVA, VCU, VSU, Logistics Management Resources, and LMI.

The expertise of the founding members includes a variety of disciplines within the logistics industry, such as supply chain risk management, modeling and simulation, large-scale data management, enterprise system integration, and workforce development.

To foster a collaborative research environment, the CCALS facility is expected to include computation and large-scale data mining laboratories, as well as a production warehouse for advanced simulation experiments.

In addition to bringing solutions to market more quickly, CCALS will allow industry members to influence the curriculum and workforce development programs at participating universities, as well as obtain access to the quality pipeline of graduates entering Virginia’s workforce each year.

CCALS complements Central Virginia’s existing logistics hub, which already includes the U.S. Army’s Logistics University at Fort Lee, two Amazon.com distribution centers, and significant UPS and FedEx operations.

Virginia continues to build upon the reputation of its premier logistics network, which includes six interstate highways, nine commercial airports, 14 railroads, including two Class I lines, and the International Port of Virginia, which is the only East Coast location in the U.S. able to handle post-Panamax vessels as first port of call.

To learn why companies have invested more than $1.8 billion in Virginia logistics projects over the last decade, click here.

Yesterday, Daikin McQuay announced plans to invest $9.2 million to expand its facility in Augusta County, creating 50 new jobs.

A subsidiary of Fortune 1000 company Daikin Industries, Daikin McQuay is the largest HVAC and refrigeration company in the world. The company designs flexible HVAC solutions for commercial, industrial and institutional markets with a focus on high energy efficiency.

The expansion will allow the company to better serve its global customers through the addition of a testing area to demonstrate the performance of its products using a variety of metrics.

Daikin McQuay has found success in Augusta County for almost 60 years, tapping into the engineering and technical expertise of the local workforce. The center of the company’s industrial chiller operation is located at the Augusta County facility.

Governor McDonnell met with company officials during his Asia Marketing Mission in 2011, as well as during marketing trips to New York in 2011 and 2012 to tout Virginia’s premier business environment.

The Commonwealth continues to attract global leaders like Daikin McQuay due to Virginia’s unique combination of assets, which include a high-tech workforce, world-class logistics network, and competitive operating costs. To learn more, click here.

The Virginia Beach Economic Development Authority and Hampton Roads Partnership have joined together to launch the Virginia Beach Economic Gardening Initiative.

The economic gardening program will allow local entrepreneurs access to resources and information typically only available to larger, more established companies.

Specifically, the Virginia Beach initiative will provide high-tech research tools so participating companies can analyze their strategy and market dynamics. The program includes access to advice from seasoned entrepreneurs through a partnership with the Service Corps of Retired Executives.

In addition, companies will receive 35 hours of support from a national team with expertise in marketing, data analysis, geographic information systems, and social media. The program is available to 10 companies each year, and the first three companies selected include Morphix Technologies Inc., Virginia Toy & Novelty Co., and Klett Consulting Group Inc.

Economic gardening is a growing trend in economic development circles. Holding to the theory that entrepreneurs drive local economies, adherents support these smaller business owners by providing resources in the community to help businesses grow. This grass-roots approach, popularized by MIT researcher David Birch, is a complement to the more traditional economic development model of recruitment and retention.

The Virginia Beach Economic Gardening Initiative is an example of the innovative, pro-business environment that exists across the Commonwealth of Virginia. To learn more about the resources Virginia offers to help businesses succeed, click here.

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About VEDP

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), a state authority created by the Virginia General Assembly to better serve those seeking a prime business location and increased trade opportunities, provides confidential site selection and international trade services. VEDP's mission: To enhance the quality of life and raise the standard of living for all Virginians, in collaboration with Virginia communities, through aggressive business recruitment, expansion assistance, and trade development, thereby expanding the tax base and creating higher-income employment opportunities.